MovieChat Forums > Ocean's Eleven (2001) Discussion > Major Coinkidinks????

Major Coinkidinks????

posted 12 years ago by StrayCat1000
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I'm not dissing the movie, in fact it's one of my faves, and of course in movies we're supposed to just take things for granted, but what are some major and extremely unlikely COINCIDENCES that just happen to take place in Ocean's Eleven in order for the heist to have worked out without a hitch? Here's a few:

~ After meeting Zerga only once and without any validation Benedict considers him to be some kind of VIP that not only deserves his personal attention, he was "satisfied" the explosive conductors in Zerga's brief case were acceptable to be put in his vault.

~ It was certain that Linus would be able to steal the security codes from Benedict whether it be right from his pocket or other.

~ Guards just assumed that it was ok to put the delivery cart Yen was in into the vault without asking any questions or getting permission.

~ The remote to set off the safe door bomb runs out of batteries ~ Linus just happens to have fresh batteries in his back pocket ~ Yen gets unstuck just on the nick of time.

~ Ocean just happens to be friends with Benedict's goon (Bulldog the Bruiser), and previously paid him a "couple million" knowing correctly that Benedict's thugs would sequester him to the exact "non-camera room" that would have access through the ceiling to the elevator, and Bruiser would definitely be there to not only keep watch but also beat him up the entire duration of the fight.

~ Ocean knew in advance that on "fight night" he'd somehow be able to secretly get a cel phone into Tess's possession, or that she'd be wearing a jacket and that he'd have an opportunity at a precise moment to place it into her pocket.

~ Tess would follow orders, go to her room, she'd be there to get the call to "turn to channel 88", watch the entire episode with Benedict & Ocean of which Ocean knew at the exact moment what to say to win her back.

[–] uscpsycho 12 years ago

I'm quite sure I don't understand the point of this post. They had a plan. They anticipated what people would do, and for the most part, they anticipated correctly. That's why a major part of the legwork was shown to be surveillance, observation, getting to know people, watching how things are done, etc. Most of it worked out like they hoped, and the things that didn't (batteries and Yen getting stuck) humorously worked out well together anyway, even though only we (the audience) knew how they played together.

Some things didn't go right, and they had to improvise, like the guy recognizing Saul from Saratoga and casting suspicion on him. Eh, I suppose I'll go point-by-point since you bothered to type them out.

1. He checked Zerga's brief case for listening devices and explosives, neither of which he detected. The conductors or whatever they were that Basher designed (and we saw him working on them meticulously) passed for large gems or something. He's not going to assume a brief case in a vault is a threat, which it wouldn't be if there wasn't ALSO a tiny Chinese man inside the vault and another dude or two outside the vault to detonate them.

2. Linus was recruited specifically because he was a pick-pocket. That's like saying the twins can drive, Basher can blow stuff up, etc.

3. They were wearing Bellagio uniforms and had a Bellagio cart. And they were inside the part of the building that required key card access.

4. Linus took "being ready for anything" literally, which is completely in his character, and had backup batteries.

5. We aren't spoon-fed everything. He clearly knows Bruiser from much earlier, and probably had a hand in Bruiser getting that job. If not, then maybe he befriended Bruiser because he had ties with Benedict. He's gotten the scoop on where and how "tough guys" are handled by Benedict. It's the plan and it works out.

6. Again, this was part of the plan. She was going to a fight and she was his wife - he had a good idea of what she would be wearing. Plus, approaching her and confronting her was what gets him into the room with Bruiser, which was part of #5.

7. He correctly predicts her actions. He knows her well. She knows something's going down, he knows that she knows he's involved, she remembers when he had the opportunity to slip her the phone, she recognized Rusty's voice. Of course, curiosity is going to win out for 99% of people in this case.

You have to assume that in an elaborate scheme like this, there are checkpoints. If those checkpoints aren't made, the mission is aborted. But it would be a boring movie if Linus got caught trying to steal the codes from Benedict, locked up, and everyone else just walked away, wouldn't it?